Universities and markets: the ownership of knowledge?

This paper examines corporatization trends in U.S. universities, presenting a description and analysis of the broad scope of these developments. The paper describes and analyzes these changes, as a whole, to present an assessment of the pervasiveness of the changes that are moving universities away from their public character and more toward an institutional character as private market actor – like business corporations. Looking at the whole picture presents an integrated view of the permeation of private market values into the university – with serious negative effects and implications for protection of academic freedom and the public mission of the university. The paper begins with a brief history of academic freedom in the United States. It then presents an analysis of three current areas of university corporatization affecting core university functions: commercialization of academic research; for-profit distance education; and increased job insecurity with the growth of the contingent faculty workforce.

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